Across the board

This section contains news and analysis of sweeping developments that affect the overall push and pull towards FTAs and bilateral investment treaties. This means major trends relating to bilateralism, often with global consequences, and other cross-cutting issues. New developments arising from US politics, the WTO or South-South alliance-building, for instance, are often reported here as they tend to have systemic impacts.

last update: May 2012

Free trade agreements: The dangerous new frontier

5-Aug-2011 People's Democracy

FTAs are worse than the WTO because they demand much more, writes Amit Sengupta

US Senators reach compromise on free trade deals

4-Aug-2011 VoA

US Senate leaders have reached a potential bipartisan compromise on three long-delayed free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.

A trade barrier to defeating AIDS

27-Jul-2011 NY Times

The new strategy is to treat people in Egypt, Paraguay, Turkmenistan or China — middle-income countries, all — as if they or their governments could pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year each for AIDS drugs.

The Wrong Way to Free Trade

25-Jul-2011

Late last week, a longstanding debate over free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama — deals that were negotiated under President George W. Bush but never finalized — stalled once again. President Obama supports the agreements, but only if more retraining for workers is part of the deal, a condition Republican leaders are resisting.

WTO Chief Blasts Small Pacts, Says They Hamper Global Opportunities

21-Jul-2011

The World Trade Organization's chief on Wednesday took aim at the growing number of small free-trade deals being signed among the group's 153 member nations, saying such deals could limit opportunities with countries outside the group.

Free-trade agreements said to be delayed by Obama amid worker-aid dispute

21-Jul-2011 Bloomberg

President Barack Obama will delay sending free-trade agreements to Congress until lawmakers return from an August recess as a dispute with Republicans over a worker-aid program remains unresolved, according to people familiar with the decision.

The audacity of free trade agreements

18-Jul-2011 FPIF

As the US economy struggles to regain its footing, the best way to rebuild stability is to learn from mistakes of the past and strive for greater equity. A necessary step is to reject the Colombia, South Korea, and Panama Free Trade Agreements.

Free-trade deals would be costly to US

9-Jul-2011

For over a decade, the labor movement and development advocates have called for fair-trade policy that is part of a more coordinated and coherent national economic strategy. Unfortunately, the Korean, Colombian and Panamanian free-trade deals before Congress do not address the fundamental policy failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement and China's inclusion into "favored nation status," which has led to catastrophic job loss in the U.S. and the explosion of our import/export deficit, now reaching $500 billion annually.

GOP calls free trade talks "noxious," blocks deals

2-Jul-2011

Senate Republicans today said discussions with Democrats over three pending free trade agreements have become so "noxious" that they've decided to block them.

Obama trade accord with Congress touted as Republicans balk at worker aid

30-Jun-2011 Bloomberg

The Obama administration announced an agreement for Congress to act on stalled trade accords with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, as Republicans balked at plans to incorporate aid to displaced U.S. workers.

Across the board

Referenced sites

21st Century Trade Agreements: Implications for Long-Run Development Policy

#A18DoA - Global day of action to defeat free trade and investment treaties

Alianza Social Continental

ICC

Movimientos.org

Pambazuka

People over profit

Peoples Global Action

Regional/Multilateral Integration Agreements

SOMO

South Centre

Stop fast track!

ISDS Case Map